Politics & Government

5:21 pm

Fri July 25, 2014

State Senator Ready To Revisit Creating State-Run Health Exchange

There could be another push in Lansing to set up a state-run website to purchase insurance through the federal healthcare law.

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As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, one state Senator says he’s ready to revisit the idea.

Governor Rick Snyder and other top policymakers championed legislation last year that would have created a state-run health exchange. The bill cleared the state House but stalled in the Senate.

Republican Jim Marleau chairs the state Senate Health Policy Committee. He says the federal health exchange has worked well for Michiganders since problems with the website were fixed late last year. But he says he’s still interested in a state-run exchange – especially if issues pop up again

“I guess the old Boy Scout model in me, you know – ‘Be prepared,’” he says.

A recent court ruling could jeopardize tax subsidies for people who bought insurance on the federal exchange in states like Michigan. It’s unclear how that ruling would affect people in Michigan if the state sets up its own exchange in the future.